The comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy opened solidly despite the winter storm that buried much of the U.S. Northeast. Distributor Universal Pictures estimates the storm might have choked off as much as 10 percent of the movie's business.
The previous weekend's top movie, the zombie romance "Warm Bodies," fell to No. 2 with $11.5 million.
"Side Effects," Steven Soderbergh's thriller, had a modest opening of $10 million for the third spot.
The top 10 films of the weekend were:
1. "Identity Thief," $36.6 million ($230,000 international).
2. "Warm Bodies," $11.5 million.
3. "Side Effects," $10 million.
4. "Silver Linings Playbook," $6.9 million.
5. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $5.8 million ($11.6 million international).
6. "Mama," $4.3 million ($6.1 million international).
7. "Zero Dark Thirty," $4 million.
8. "Argo," $2.5 million.
9. "Django Unchained," $2.3 million.
10. "Bullet to the Head," $2 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
